It’s the dreaded “L” word. Layoffs. Both employees and employers fear the unwelcome proposition of losing their job, or laying people off. Sitting down face-to-face with an employee and actually saying the words is no easy task; plus layoffs mean your company isn’t at its healthiest. Not exactly the situation you want to be in.

But while cutting staff might be an inevitability in the near future, there are some steps you can take to try and avoid layoffs.

Step #1: Encourage attrition.

Do you have a number of employees who will retire in the near future? Think about creating and offering an attractive incentive package to those who qualify. Also, if you’ve had any employees who have recently quit or been fired, don’t fill those positions if possible. Reassign those duties to your existing workforce until you are able to hire again.

Step #2: Institute a hiring freeze.

If you’re experiencing an increase in demand at your company, it can be tempting to hire again. But you may want to consider placing a freeze on hiring until the situation has stabilized. If you have a seasonal peak in demand, or have employees out on maternity or sick leave, consider using a staffing company to hire temporary employees for the time being.

Step #3: Reduce hours worked.

While this is sure to be met with some protest and trepidation on the part of your staff, you may want to consider creating a four-day work week to lower the number of hours worked and salary paid. Assure your employees that this situation is temporary and will help the company to avoid future layoffs. To offset this, you may want to allow your employees to trade pay for company stock.

Step #4: Limit overtime.

Overtime is expensive if you’re paying it to your full-time employees. Instead, think about hiring some temporary employees to get the work done. It may cost much less in the long run.

Step #5: Encourage job sharing and leaves of absence.

Allow full-time employees to become part-time employees and share their job roles with each other. Or, if you have an employee who you know wants to take an extended trip to Europe, or write a book, ask him or her to take a leave of absence without pay, but with benefits, for a period of time.

Step #6: Tap into the power of temporary staffing.

Take on more projects and increase productivity – without an increase in overhead – by using temporary employees. Once the project is complete or work flow starts to slow down, simply release the temporary workers.

At Murray Resources, we’ve helped many employers throughout Houston to weather the tough economy by taking full advantage of strategic, temporary staffing. If your company is currently in a position where layoffs seem imminent, please contact Murray Resources. We may be able to help you avoid them.